Two More IRGC Members and a Hezbollah Commander Killed in Syria

Continuing reports of Iranian forces' deaths in the Syrian civil war, Iranian media reported the killing of two more members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a commander of Hezbollah in the country. The Mashregh news website reported on Friday, November 15, that with the deaths of Qadir Sarlak and Rouhollah Ghorbani, the number of IRGC casualties in Syria since the beginning of the 'Ashura Operation' has reached 38. In this context, the Fars news agency also reported that the vehicle carrying these two IRGC members was targeted by a missile near Aleppo on Wednesday, November 13. This report referred to Mr. Sarlak as a member of the 'Mohammad Rasulullah' IRGC and introduced Mr. Ghorbani as a 'Basij' member. However, the Tasnim news agency wrote that Qadir Sarlak had 'worked for years as the commander of the Imam Hussein Brigade of the Martyr Mohalati IRGC.' The Ashura Operation is an operation that began at the start of the month of Muharram, supported by Russian air forces, by the Syrian army and IRGC units along with Hezbollah to retake the city of Aleppo in Syria. The Ahlulbayt news agency also reported the killing of Ali Hossein Balhas, nicknamed 'Haj Javad,' one of the 'field commanders of Hezbollah in Syria.' According to this report, this Hezbollah commander was also killed around Aleppo. Aleppo is located in northern Syria, and various parts of it have recently been under the control of armed groups opposing Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian army. In the past two months, reports of the presence of the Islamic State or ISIS around this city have also emerged.